Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites (Plastic Comb)

~ Tawra Jean Kellam (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...clever, well-organized and easy to read. If you like the Tightwad Gazette Books, you'll love Not Just Beans." -- Kim Tilley, frugalmoms.com, February 2000

"...not only the best cookbook I've seen, but a complete family savings guide as well. Highly recommended." -- Terry Rigg, homemoneyhelp.com, August 2001

Product Description

How can you cut your grocery budget without depriving your family? This is the subject of author Tawra Kellam's cookbook, Not Just Beans.

Not Just Beans is a collection of frugal recipes and tips from the cooking expertise of three generations of Tawra Kellam's family. Using these tips and suggestions, Mrs. Kellam shows how anyone can tighten his or her food budget. In the book, Tawra shares the secrets of how she spends an average of $125 per month feeding her family of four.

This new revised Second Edition of Not Just Beans includes everything in the first edition but also includes healthy substitutions, Tawra's pantry guide, 23 menu ideas (including ideas for picky eaters and quick dinners) and the much requested index of the 420 frugal tips included in the book.

Not Just Beans is designed for the beginner as well as the more experienced cook. It contains over 540 recipes and 420 tips explaining how to eat well while slashing your grocery bill. The recipes are easy to cook with ingredients readily found at your local grocery store. With hard-to- find frugal recipes like buttermilk, enchilada sauce and granola bars, classic favorites like slow cooked roast, hush puppies and apple crisp and old-fashioned comfort foods like watermelon pickles, lemon bars, rice pudding and fried green tomatoes, Not Just Beans has it all.

Not Just Beans teaches the reader how to cook frugally without eating beans alone. PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT JUST BEANS IS NOT A VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

Some topics covered in the book are:
-Changing the way you think about your food budget without feeling deprived
-Creative uses of leftovers
-Unique recipes to entertain the kids including slime, bubbles, face paint, finger paint, and tub crayons
-Gifts in a jar and suggestions for making frugal gift baskets
-Lots of humor and household tips that make Not Just Beans as entertaining as it is practical

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Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 280 pages
• Publisher: Not Just Beans Publishing; 2nd edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967697425
• ISBN-13: 978-0967697420
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #949,298 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have for Frugal Cooks!, March 31, 2004

By	Michelle Jones "editor of BetterBudgeting.com" (www.BetterBudgeting.com - ATL, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not Just Beans - 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites, by Tawra Kellam, is an excellent cookbook and frugal living resource!

I've been an avid cookbook collector for most of my life, and I can tell you, without a doubt, this is absolutely one of the best cookbooks on the market for frugal cooks! I've just finished reviewing the entire book myself and feel it should be on the kitchen counter of every household!

Not only does this delightful cookbook contain 542 recipes, there is a large tip section in the front and back of the book that are filled with great tips for frugal cooking, meal planning, grocery shopping, saving time in the kitchen, freezing foods, snack ideas for kids, jar mixes and other gift ideas, homemade seasonings, household cleaners, fun stuff to make with kids, menu ideas, and more!

In addition, Tawra has included an extra tip page at the beginning of each section of recipes (Breakfast, Breads, Soups, etc...), and more tips are spread throughout the entire cookbook, many of which are great money-saving tips!

Not Just Beans is truly a must have for frugal cooks, but I would also recommend this cookbook for anyone just starting out on their own. Leaving home (and mom's great cooking) is not always easy, but with this cookbook in hand at least it will be a lot easier for new cooks to put delicious meals on the table; the recipes are easy to prepare and easy on the budget!

I get letters all the time from people wanting to know what they can cook for their families on a tight budget, other than just beans! I remember thinking the same thing when our family first encountered difficult financial times many years ago. In fact, I said to my husband "What in the world am I going to cook (on a food budget of $30 a week) besides macaroni and cheese... and our children hate beans!" Boy how I wish I had been able to have a copy of Not Just Beans back then!

Some of the recipes I was most delighted to find included in this cookbook are Baking Mix, Flour Tortillas, Onion Soup Mix, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Cheeseburger Rolls, Hawaiian Chicken Wings, Fried Apples (I'm always forgetting how much butter and sugar to add!), Granola Bars, Vanilla Wafers, Peanut Butter and Ranch Dressing - both completely homemade, and hundreds of more recipes my family is sure to enjoy!

I believe Tawra and I must be kindred spirits - along with millions of other frugal parents! We simply want to feed our families good food, limit the macaroni and cheese dinners to once a week or less, and still have some money left over after leaving the grocery store!

Tawra is originally from Kansas and her recipes make this Southern girl proud! Most of the recipes are for traditional comfort foods, which can also be altered as needed with the healthy substitutions included in the cookbook. And the money-saving tips alone make this a great investment for every frugal home!

Michelle Jones, Editor of BetterBudgeting.com

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real life (and tastebud) saver!, December 6, 1999

By	"lpvonnie" (Sun Valley, NV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites (Plastic Comb)

When I recieved my book I sat and read it from cover to cover. The hints and tips and funny anecdotes add such a human touch to this cook book! The recipes are fun and easy to follow. I have made recipe after recipe and my family continues to be amazed at the culinary delights I present to them! The love and family history that Tawra has poured into this book make for an AMAZING kitchen tool. I have been a confirmed "Frugal" for a long time, but since reading the Complete Tightwad Gazette and using Not Just Beans, my family has NEVER been so well fed and my Tightwad grocery budget is EVEN lower! Thanks Tawra for putting this COMPLETE cookbook together!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the Beans!, February 14, 2002

By	Julie Post (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just Beans: 50 Years of Frugal Family Favorites (Plastic Comb)

I am a cookbook junkie and since adding Not Just Beans to my collection, I find myself turning to it before all the others. All the recipes that I've tried have been wonderful. I've easily been able to adapt many of them to lower fat recipes using 2% milk, light cheese, fat free sour cream, etc... The Jar Mixes section came in especially handy over the holidays and I received rave reviews for all the "Gifts in Jars" that I gave out. My daughter and I have had tons of fun in the Kids section making Slime, Play Dough, Finger Paints and Christmas Ornaments.

Best of all are all the time and money saving tips spread through out the book. I'm even making my own household cleaners thanks to this book. Bottom Line: Not Just Beans is a MUST HAVE for Frugalites everywhere!